Page 61 of Assisting My Brother’s Best Friend

DREW

"You sure youdon't mind waiting for them to get back?" Kate asked me after we'd finished the dishes.

I was tired, but I couldn't bring myself to go home just yet. I didn't want the evening with Kate to end. "Have they texted you?"

Kate pulled her phone out of her back pocket. "They did." She unlocked the screen and read the text. "Jonas says the baby is looking fine so far. The doctors just want to monitor them for another hour or so."

I checked the time on my watch. "It's after midnight, but I'm okay to wait another hour." If I was tired the next day at work, it would be worth it.

"Wanna watch a movie then?"

"Sure."

Kate led me back into the living room and we both sank down onto the big couch. There was a huge ottoman pushed right against it, and I couldn't help but think it might be a nice spot to doze off on.

We picked the latest blockbuster hit and got comfy, but it wasn't long before my eyelids got heavy. I shifted on the couch to get even more comfortable. Kate was just inches away, her legs stretched out on the ottoman. When she glanced at me, her eyes were sleepy too.

The movie was okay, but it was only a matter of minutes before I drifted off into a deep sleep.

"You got all the supplies?"Aiden opened the oak door to his parents’ house, a huge smile on his permanently tanned face.

Of course he would wait until Spring Break of our last year of college to finally promise an actual all-nighter.

I held up the grocery sack filled with energy drinks. "No more pansy soda and hot chocolate. I got the hard stuff this time."

Aiden shook his head and led the way to the family room in the back of the house.

"Hey, Drew." Kate peeked her head around the corner when she heard us walking through the kitchen. "How much do you wanna bet Aiden conks out before dawn?"

I held up the grocery sack. "It's not gonna happen. I got the real deal this time, and I'll feed it to him with an IV if I have to."

Kate smiled and stepped beside me and we continued to the family room together, arguing over whether it would really work this time. I tried to stand up for Aiden, but Kate did have a point. Nothing had seemed to work in the past. Why would this night be any different?

Aiden was already centering the gaming chairs in the middle of the room when we stepped inside.

"Gonna spy on another guys’ night?" Aiden asked Kate as he plopped down in his chair.

"Believe it or not,” Kate said, "I'm busy tonight. So no, I'm sorry I won't be able to cheer on your gaming." She ruffed up Aiden's blond hair before plopping herself down on the couch. "I'm just here for the peanut butter cups that I know Drew bought for me."

Was I really that predictable?

I hid the bag behind by back, though I knew it was pointless. Kate could charm me out of anything. All she had to do was look at me with those bright blue eyes of hers, flutter her long eyelashes, and I would do anything she asked. Part of me wondered if she knew just how much control she had over me…she probably did.

Aiden certainly had noticed. And then lectured me about it.

Yes, I knew logically that I shouldn't notice Kate, who was still just a senior in high school…three years younger than I was. But I couldn'tnotnotice her. She was gorgeous, and her outgoing, carefree personality was captivating to my more reserved self.

I was pretty sure she'd been flirting with me for months, and it was totally killing my self-control since she seemed to always get dressed up even more when I hung out at her family's house.

But I needed to keep that self-control, or Aiden would beat me up. At least, that's what he threatened whenever he caught me smiling stupidly at his sister.

It was so wrong. Wanting to make-out with my best friend's sister. So, so wrong.

But also so tempting.

When Kate realized holding her hand out passively for the candy wasn't going to do the trick, she lifted herself off the couch and marched over to where I stood with the candy still behind my back.

"Come on, Drew." She looked up at me expectantly, her hand open in a ‘gimme’ gesture. "I know you always buy an extra when you come here."

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